lost stars
by found dove in a soapless place
Summary: [COLLECTION OF ONE-SHOTS] Growing up is hard enough for any young girl, but having to endure puberty as a Dragonslayer is a new circle of hell. Boys, existential crises, dieting, and near death experiences –the only thing left for Wendy to do is enjoy the ride.
1. Some Friendly Advice

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL. **

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><p><strong>lost stars<strong>

_Growing up is hard enough for any young girl, but having to endure puberty as a Dragonslayer is a new circle of hell. Boys, existential crises, dieting, and near death experiences –the only thing left for Wendy to do is enjoy the ride. _

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><p>From even before you are capable of comprehending the human language, you were taught how to behave, whom to obey, and what to believe in. Parents, grandparents, pseudo-liberal primary schools, and conservative sectarian secondary schools do it to protect you, for the most part. <em>Treat others the way you want to be treated. Respect your elders. Look before you cross. <em>These are vital pieces of information that will probably save you much trouble in the future, so it is usually best to listen. But at some point you learn the lessons for yourself, or if they even apply to you at all.

You are told to cherish what you have, but you never fully understand what it means until the first time something is ripped from our careless hands and you suddenly become aware of how precious it was. You are told to never be afraid to try, but it is only when you start waking up with a deeper appreciation for the things you know you can never have that you know what your elders meant. And when they tell you, "You are important," you never really believe them, not until you realize how many people depend on what exactly you are capable of.

No matter how many times you hear the same proverbs, you never feel their gravity until the moment you learn the lesson for yourself. It is then that they stop being merely rules and words of caution, but truths and fallacies. Eventually, you start dispensing advice of your own. To the one you are giving it to, it may sound like nothing more than a recycled package in pretty wrapping. But because you have seen and felt first hand what it means to fail, to hurt, and to laugh through it all, you are not just a mouthful of borrowed words. You are a survivor. There is no such thing as wisdom. There are only tales the of experienced fools.

You're a glass jar of flesh memories.


	2. New Beginnings

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL.**

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><p><strong>lost stars<strong>

_Growing up is hard enough for any young girl, but having to endure puberty as a Dragonslayer is a new circle of hell. Boys, existential crises, dieting, and near death experiences –the only thing left for Wendy to do is enjoy the ride._

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><p>"Happy birthday, Wendy!" the guild chorused after a particularly horrendous rendition of a classic ceremonial hymn. Only Fairy Tail could manage to butcher the "Happy birthday to you!" song.<p>

But Wendy didn't mind in the slightest. She smiled and blew out her thirteen candles in one breath without using Dragon's Roar, something Natsu was too fond of doing just to piss whoever was in front of him at that moment off.

The others cheered and Lucy gave her a big hug. "So what did you wish for, now that you're officially a teenager?" she asked. The youngest Dragonslayer shook her head.

"It's a secret," she laughed, before dividing the two-tier chocolate cake Mira and Charle had worked on the whole afternoon into enough slices for everyone. Lucy ruffled her hair before accepting the plate being offered to her.

Watching everyone gathered there, being able to smile and joke around even after a year, or in fact, seven years, of loss and pain, brought Wendy a sense of comforting joy. She'd wished for it to always be like that.

Predictably, the party became rowdier, and though she did not notice the exact moment alcohol started being passed around –despite Erza's order that for that night, there would be not a drop of booze –Wendy knew when it was her cue to escape.

Expertly ducking and dodging the bodies and furniture being thrown, Wendy managed to sneak up to the balcony, holding her own plate of cake. She stared up at the stars. There weren't a lot of them out, that night.

Thirteen didn't feel any different from twelve, she thought. Wendy still felt as awkward and unsure as she did yesterday. What was weirder, she mused, was that she was technically supposed to be twenty. Wistfully, she wondered what it would have felt like to have all the graces or a twenty year old woman, assured of what she wanted in life and fully aware how to get there –if she wasn't, already.

She missed seven years of her life. She missed growing up into a strong wizard, growing taller, growing hopefully larger breasts, falling down and getting back up again, and learning all of the things that would have changed her and made her into who she would be. She had been robbed.

"Wendy?" Charle said, suddenly hovering by the doorframe. "Where have you been? Everyone's waiting downstairs. They want to give you your gifts."

She smiled at her. Some things, she knew, would remain constant. "I'll be down in a bit, Charle," she said. More tenderly, she added, "Thank you."

The white cat gave her a concerned look and opened her mouth to pursue the topic, but decided against it. She descended to join everyone else.

Wendy closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, letting the wind ghost against her skin. She wondered if her mother was thinking about her.

She stared at the sky again. The clouds were slowly rolling away, and she could make out the soft glow and silhouette of the moon being unveiled. She could feel the tips of her midnight blue hair tickling the blades of her shoulder.

The years she had lost did not matter in the slightest, and dwelling on what could have been was pointless. What were important were the years in front of her, and the days she would spend growing, learning, making mistakes and winning her own battles, with the people who she held most dear. Those days were coming, and they were hers.

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><p><strong>AN:** Edited and reposted to celebrate my 15th birthday, yay! This is pretty much an anthology that I won't be updating frequently, but this just seemed to be a goldmine of possible ideas so I'm just putting it out there. Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what you think in the form of a review!

PS Is this an ode to the song Lost Stars from the movie Begin Again? Most definitely.

PPS Is this going to be a sentimental, mushy fic where Wendy goes through numerous spiritual and romantic experiences that shape her into a wise young woman? Most definitely not. Well, maybe sometimes. Rest assured, however I plan to torture our favourite cutiepatootie with masses of cringe worthy embarrassing moments, the way teenage girls love to torture themselves and each other.


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